President Donald Trump said Friday the U.S. markets could face some “pain” from the trade standoff with China and other countries but claimed that Americans would be better off in the long-run due to his protectionist actions.

“I’m not saying there won’t be a little pain,” Trump said Friday during an interview on WABC Radio’s “Bernie & Sid in the Morning” program. ” So we might lose a little of it but we’re going to have a much stronger country when we’re finished, and that’s what I’m all about.”

China, which is a great economic power, is considered a Developing Nation within the World Trade Organization. They therefore get tremendous perks and advantages, especially over the U.S. Does anybody think this is fair. We were badly represented. The WTO is unfair to U.S.

The selloff in U.S. stocks pushed past 2 per cent in afternoon trading, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell did little to calm investors rattled by the latest trade rhetoric from the White House. Fresh attempts by White House officials to tone down the bluster failed to calm nerves, with the Cboe Volatility Index back above 21.

Equities fell to session lows as Powell said that the discussion about tariffs is at a “relatively early stage” and there’s no impact for the near-term outlook. The Fed chairman also reiterated that a gradual pace of tightening remained prudent.

U.S. stocks have fluctuated drastically for much of the past month as Trump has intensified punitive trade actions against several countries. Trump, who in the past has hailed the rising stock prices during his tenure, has spoken less about the markets as they have retreated from record highs this year.

Trump claimed in the interview Friday that “the market’s gone up 40 per cent or 42 per cent.”

Since Trump was inaugurated, the S&P 500 is up 17 per cent, the Dow up 24 per cent and the Nasdaq up 27 per cent. Since his election, the S&P 500 is up 33 per cent, the Dow up 44 per cent and the Nasdaq up 44 per cent, even with recent losses.

“We have to do things that other people wouldn’t do. So we may take a hit, but you know what, ultimately we’re going to be much stronger for it,” Trump said during the radio interview on Friday. “It’s something we had to do, and ultimately if you take a look it’s not only trade with China — it’s everybody.”

Responding to Trump’s Thursday action, China said it would counter U.S. protectionism “to the end, and at any cost,” as a war of words over Trump’s proposed tariffs on Chinese imports escalated.

“The Chinese side will follow suit to the end and at any cost, and will firmly attack, using new comprehensive countermeasures, to firmly defend the interest of the nation and its people,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement on its website on Friday.